Abnormal Connection
by michellewritesfics
Summary: Finn forces Marceline to apologize to Princess Bubblegum about a recent fight. In the streets of the Candy Kingdom, they meet Peppermint Butler. Finn discovers that Marceline and Peppermint Butler have closer relations than he had expected. Oneshot.


"I can't believe you're making me _apologize_ to her, Finn!" Marceline shrieked in annoyance as the young boy guided her through the colorful and candy-built kingdom. Their dim feet cracked the once sturdy brittle pavements, getting crumbs on their footwear. Marceline's eyes dart back and forth from the palace and Finn, growing more irritated with the fact that she had to say 'sorry' to Princess Bubblegum. "Come on, kiddo. Why don't we just ditch this whole thing and play some tricks on Jake?"

A scratchy, electronic noise broke out. Indistinct. Finn dug into his pocket, seizing hold at a crudely-made device similar to a walkie-talkie. Pressing the only button on the surface and bringing the communication device to his face, Finn answered back, "yo, man."

"Sup, bro. 'ey, Marceline, I know what you're up to and I'm ready for you this time!" Jake's voice spewed from the 'phone'. When Marceline scoffed, Jake immediately barked up again, "Marcie! I'm ready and you know that!"

Finn let out an amused chuckle. Still holding at the button with his thumb, he answered back, "hey, hey. S'all fun and games. She's not going to prank you! We're over that." He turned to face Marceline, his blue eyes taking a quick glance over at the vampire's vibrant red sundress before examining at the large parasol at hovering over his friend's head. "Right, Mar?"

It took a moment for Marceline to reply, but when she did, she lifted her feet from the ground and hovered over to creep behind Finn's back. Leaning over his shoulder, she let out a sharp hiss, causing Jake to address a shrill scream through the 'phone'. "Yeah, no pranks." A sly smile curved on her blue-gray face, toying at Finn's shirt collar.

"Come on, man! We can trust Marceline! We've known her for two years now." Finn breathed out a heavy sigh before lifting his thumb from the button, sliding the walkie-talkie back into his pocket. "Now c'mon. P.B.'s waiting for us!"

"No, she's not," Marceline snapped back immediately, bitterness filling her tone.

The human crinkled his nose and huffed. "Let's just say that she is."

Their walk became everything but silent. Marceline had been scaring the candy folk that passed by them and when she wasn't doing that, the bored - and still very annoyed - immortal creature kept tickling Finn, leaving him astray from the path he intended to get to: Princess Bubblegum's residence.

"Hey, hey! M-Marce-Marceline! C-come on, don-" he couldn't finish his sentence. The excessive tickling from Marceline prompted him to get into a giggling fit, his face turning a bright red, almost matching Marceline's dress. "Ma-Mar!"

When Marceline witnessed Finn turning a deep red, she retracted her hands away from the boy and stifled a laugh with her free hand, her other hand clutching at the umbrella. "Oh, dude! Finn, you're an _apple_!"

He still felt the effects of Marceline's ghosting tickles, his body reacting rather unnatural as he continued his laughing. His feet stumbled across the brittle road, the sweet-scented winds being invited by his nostrils. Everything, just for a moment, was blissful. But then an outside force clashed with him and Finn returns to the serious nature of reality, his eyes looking down at the thing he collided with. Peppermint Butler. "Pep But, hey!" The redness from Finn's face was sucked, only leaving traces of a faint pink. "Hey, what's with the bag?"

The candy civilian looked down at the sack he was holding, fiddling it with his tiny fingers. "Delivery. To the Duke of Nuts." His eyes move from the human to the being that edged closer to Finn. A smile crawled on his face and a brief chuckle gradually expelled from his mouth. "Marceline Abadeer." Seeing Marceline give out a short 'yo' and a wave of her free hand, Peppermint Butler created another amusing chuckle. "How are things?"

"Hey, you don't need to be so 'hey, how's things?' with me, y'know," Marceline commented, jabbing a finger at Peppermint Butler's bow tie. "You're buddies with my old man." Hovering in circles around the candied individual, the vampire wavered her hand in the air. "Whatcha got in the bag?"

Finn stared at the two, not sure how to register things. _Wait, what? WHAT?! Mar and Peppermint But are pals?_ And then a memory flashed into his mind. When he entered the Nightosphere with Jake. The portraits. One of them had Peppermint Butler with Marceline's father. "Hey, hey, heeeeey," he drawled the last 'hey' out, raising his hands in the air weakly. "So, what, you guys are, like, super awesome buddies?" His question brought forth two laughs from the members he was talking to. "What?"

Marceline, planting her feet back down on the pavement, squatted down to Peppermint Butler's height and wrapped an arm around his skinny body, pulling the candy man close, causing a short squeak from the butler. "He knows my dad. They're golfing mates. He practically raised me."

A chuckle from Peppermint Butler. Resuming his toying around with the sack, he replied, "I babysat her when she was younger."

That caused Finn's jaw to drop, performing a perfect 'o'. Shock and even more confusion set in. "W-What? How old _are _you, Pep?"

Peppermint Butler didn't respond and settled his eyes on Marceline again, nudging her lightly to speak up.

"He's pretty old. Older than me. And I'm ooooooold," the vampire said, a guffaw spilling from her lips. "But yeah, anyway. What's in the bag?" she repeated, poking at the package. Soft. Moldable.

"It's for the Duke of Nuts," Peppermint Butler said again, bringing the bag away from Marceline so she couldn't touch it anymore. "From Princess Bubblegum. It's a gift."

The adventurer snapped his fingers, remembering the reason why he had dragged Marceline along to their current whereabouts. "That's right! We need to get to P.B." When Peppermint Butler asked why, Finn pointed at Marceline in an accusing matter. "She and Bubblegum got into another fight. I'm trying to get h-"

"It wasn't my fault! She's the one that started it!" Marceline blamed, cutting Finn off. "I don't get why I'm doing this stupid thing. It's not like she'll accept it. She's too pink and rich and snobby to do that. Besides," she took a short pause, then huffed out the rest of her sentence, "I'm banned from her stupid castle or whatever."

"Why?" It was Peppermint Butler. Curious sparked in his tiny eyes and nudged at Marceline once again.

"Remember when I tried to get Finn to 'serenade' her?" She glanced over at the human boy, seeing the red returning to his face. "Embarrassed, kid?" she said in a teasing tone and witnessed the shade grow deeper. "Yeah. You don't need the details. Bonnie probably told you aaaalll about it or something. But…" A laugh parted her lips as she tried to finish her sentence, envisioning an angered Princess Bubblegum venting out to Peppermint Butler. "It doesn't matter now. I'm still banned. And really, I think I'm okay with it. I won't be seeing her ugly face around."

Peppermint Butler gave an involuntary noise; a shocked gasp. "Marceline," he called. When he heard his acquaintance bluntly say 'what?', he repeated her name with more emphasis. "I'm working with the princess-"

"More like serving her. She always needs someone to boss over!" Again, it was Marceline. "And-"

Before the vampire could rant about his friend, Finn let out a loud 'shh' while pressing a finger to his lips. "It doesn't matter what happened or happens or whatever!" He raised his arms up higher in the air, flailing his hands with his wrists. "We need to get to P.B." Finn lowered his hands down.

Marceline just scoffed and smoothed a hand over at Peppermint Butler's suit, trying to fix the bow tie. "Don't want to."

Peppermint Butler smiled at his familiar friend and swatted gently at her hand, taking a few steps away from her. "I have to bring this before sundown." He looked up at the blue sky, knowing fully that he had enough time to get to Duchy of Nuts and back to Princess Bubblegum's castle. "I'll see you later, Marceline! Finn!" Strolling even further away from the two friends, the candied butler waved goodbye to them before getting back to his duty.

Exchanging farewells until Peppermint Butler is out of their sight, Marceline and Finn continued on their journey. They got back on track to one of the many roads leading up to Bubblegum's home.

"So, uh, how do you know about Peppermint Butler?" Finn questioned, his curiosity still shining in his eyes.

"We told you. He took care of me when I was a kid," Marceline flicked at a strand of blonde hair poking out of Finn's thin bear hat. "You need to improve on your listening skills, man."

The very young teenager just folded his arms, puffing out his chest to appear more manly. Unfortunately for him, Marceline's reaction wasn't the one he had expected. When he heard her give a gleeful laugh, making fun of his appearance, Finn expelled the air out. "_No_. I mean, like, I-I don't know how to describe it. Your dad plays golf with him?" Marceline nodded, confirming his question. "Okay. So, what, then? What's Peppermint Butler?"

Marceline brought a blank look toward him. "He's a candy person."

"I know that! But… guh." He wiped a hand over his face, his curiosity dimming down and shifting to a soft shade of frustration.

"Just let it drop, will you?" Marceline pleaded, growing tired of the conversation.

Twisting his lips in thought, debating whether to toss the conversation and bring up a new one or keep on asking questions, he finally decided to go with the latter. "No." A toothy smiled formed, painting gracefully on his baby face. "So, what is he?"

* * *

By the time they had reached Bubblegum's palace, Finn was told many stories and experiences Marceline had with Peppermint Butler.

"Okay, now are you satisfied?" Marceline asked, her annoyance from before returning. When she saw the human nod, she did the same. "Good."

Finn knocked at the doors of the castle, somewhat surprised that the banana guards weren't protecting the exterior of the castle. Some few minutes past and the he could hear the locks click and the door ultimately opened up, revealing a messy-haired Bubblegum. "Hey, Princess."

Princess Bubblegum, dressed in her initial pink dress, waved generously at Finn. She glanced over to Marceline, a sour expression now on her face. "Marceline."

"Bonnie," Marceline raised an eyebrow at her.

Jabbing lightly at her elbow, Finn coughed, gesturing Marceline to apologize. All he got was a glare. Focusing his attention to Bubblegum, he said, "Marceline wants to tell you something."

"No, I don't."

Bubblegum shrugged, leaning against the door frame. "Finn. What are you trying to do, dear?" Her voice is sincere, the sourness from her face also disappearing.

And before Finn could explain, Marceline muttered an apology. Lowering her head down to stare the ground, she repeated the short word, just a tinge louder.

"Wasn't so bad, was it?" Finn had his toothy smile on. Fondness swept through his body and the boy wrapped his arm around Marceline's, pulling her close to him. Having the bit of element of surprise, Marceline hadn't been prepared for the tug and a part of her arm comes in contact with the sunlight, causing her to retract her hand back to her side. "Sorry!"

"It's all right," Marceline hissed, rubbing the small festering wound with her dress. "Ah… it's okay, really. Uh, but…" She stole a quick look at a mildly concerned Princess Bubblegum. "Yeah, you know what I mean."

"Apology accepted," Bubblegum nodded and proceeded to close the door, but Finn let out a sharp 'wait!' "Yeah, sweetie?"

Shuffling his feet somewhat nervously, Finn mumbled his comment. A tad incoherent. When the words reverberate back to his eardrums, he said them sentence again, "what's up with Peppermint Butler?"

An obvious groan from Marceline. "Dude!"

"What about Peppermint Butler?" Bubblegum blinked, unknowing of the things that Marceline and Finn had chatted about. "Is there something I need to know?"

Marceline shot a pointed look at the blonde male and when Finn caught the look, he shook his head, clamping his lips tight.

"Marceline," the royal teenager - or what appeared to be a teenager - said, sternness now stemming from her throat. "What is it?"

"Finn's being stupid. He hit his head." Marceline lifted a shoulder, the lie casually slipping from her lips. "I'm done here. See ya, Finn." Waving goodbye to Finn and sticking her tongue out childishly at Bubblegum, she hovered away from the two.

"I didn't hit my head, I swear. I'm not clumsy," Finn explained briefly and saw Bubblegum nod. "So you're cool with Marceline?"

Another nod from Princess Bubblegum. "Of course, hon." And to add to her statement, she produced a gentle smile. "I'm a bit busy, Finn. I'm in the middle of an experiment. I'll see you later?"

Now somewhat understanding the reason behind the Princess' tousled hair, Finn gave her a thumbs up. "Yeah, I'll see ya." He stood there until Princess Bubblegum closed the door. Shoving his hand into his pocket and grabbing at the walkie-talkie, Finn pressed his hand and spoke at the device, "hey. You heard all that, right?"

"Aaaalll of it," Jake's voice scratched from the other line. "I can't believe Peppermint Butler did all that! Bro, I can't see him the same ever again!"

Finn emitted a short laugh. "Yeah, yeah. I can't believe it either." He scratched at his upper back with his free hand. "Coming back to the tree house now. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Gotcha."

And Finn rushed through the kingdom's streets on his way back to his home to share the stories he received from Marceline about Peppermint Butler to Jake and BMO.


End file.
